Patent Grant
9237636
A portion of the invention of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the reproduction of the patent document or the patent invention, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates generally to program start electronic ballasts for powering discharge lamps with filament heating. More particularly, the present invention relates to program start ballasts having a resonant filament heating circuit configured with circuitry to clamp the quality (“Q”) factor of the oscillator.
Program start ballasts are known to be very useful for conditions where lights are expected to be frequently turned on and off, as they can properly operate the lamp filaments to generally extend the lamp life. To obtain a longer lamp life a program start ballast has to properly heat the lamp filaments before ignition of the lamp, but after ignition has been achieved further filament heating is unnecessary as long as the lamp current is sufficiently high.
Therefore a filament heating circuit for a program start ballast would desirably have strong filament heating capability, with a constant filament heating output voltage that is substantially insensitive to component variation and to preheat frequency.
It would be further desirable to automatically scale back or disable the filament voltage after ignition of the lamp to improve the efficiency of the total ballast.
It would be even further desirable that the ballast circuitry always operated in an inductive mode rather than capacitive mode to ensure soft switching during the preheat period of the half-bridge inverter that powers the filament heating circuit. In other words, the preheat frequency should be greater than a resonant frequency for the filament heating circuit.
In any case, it would be desirable to provide a filament heating circuit that is relatively simple and of low cost.
Referring to
Referring now to
However, this circuit 10 has significant drawbacks as well. The output voltage Vout is undesirably sensitive to variations in the preheat frequency (fpre) and other component variation, as operation of the circuit at the preheat frequency (fpre) is also quite close to the natural resonant frequency (fres) for the circuit 10. Another way of describing this problem is to observe that the quality factor (Q factor) for this circuit 10 and resonant tank 14 is quite large and that small variations in frequency near the resonant frequency result in large variations in the output voltage.
Further, the operating mode of the circuit is capacitive because the preheat frequency (fpre) is less than the natural resonant frequency (fres), and therefore soft switching is not ensured.
Various embodiments of a filament heating circuit for an electronic ballast as disclosed herein produce a constant output voltage in preheat operating conditions and naturally cut back the filament preheat voltage during steady state operation.
In another aspect of the present invention, an output voltage curve is produced having a relatively flat peak around preheat operating frequency, and a resonant frequency that is less than the preheat frequency.
In another aspect, an exemplary filament heating circuit as disclosed herein provides an output voltage that is substantially insensitive to operating frequency and component variation.
In another aspect, an exemplary filament heating circuit as disclosed herein is configured so as to ensure an inductive mode of operation during preheat conditions.
Referring generally to
A filament heating circuit for an electronic ballast in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention may be provided to produce an output voltage curve such as shown in
The flat peak around the preheat frequency generally reduces dependence of output voltage variation on the preheat frequency (fpre) and component tolerances, such that the output voltage Vout may be stable, or in other words appear to have a constant value within a certain range of preheat frequency and component values. The flat peak may be obtained through clamping of the Q factor of the filament heating circuit within a given range of the preheat frequency (fpre).
It may be understood by one of skill in the art that the peak is not truly “flat” but that the rate of change is substantially reduced in the vicinity of the preheat frequency such that the output voltage is relatively “stable” with respect to foreseeable fluctuations in frequency or component variation. Therefore, the terms “flat” and “stable” as used herein may refer generally to desirable characteristics of an output voltage curve with respect to switching frequency as would be understood by one of skill in the art.
Providing a resonant frequency (fres1) that is less than the preheat frequency (fpre) may ensure inductive operation within the same range of the preheat frequency (fpre) in which the Q factor is clamped.
A single resonant circuit arrangement generally cannot achieve this preferred output characteristic. However a circuit with multiple Q factors depending on the switching frequency may achieve this desirable output voltage characteristic.
Various embodiments of a filament heating circuit 24 as disclosed herein may be configured to generate multiple output voltage curves with respect to switching frequency (f). Referring to
When the filament heating circuit 24 operates in steady state, the output curve shifts to curve 2, which has a much lower output voltage Vout than curve 1 at the steady state switching frequency (fsteady), such that the filament heating voltage Vout is effectively reduced or disabled in the steady-state operating mode.
Therefore, the effective output voltage characteristic for the filament heating circuit 24 appears as in
Referring now to
A resonant tank 53 in the embodiment as shown includes a DC blocking capacitor C3, a resonant inductor L1 and a resonant capacitor C4 coupled in series between the inverter output terminal 56 on a first end, and the negative voltage rail on a second end. In the embodiment as shown, the negative voltage rail further defines a circuit ground. A lighting source 55 may be coupled across the resonant tank output, on a first end being coupled to the node between the resonant inductor L1 and the resonant capacitor C4, and on a second end being coupled to the negative voltage rail.
A filament heating circuit 52 with filament heating resonant tank components as further described herein is coupled in series with the resonant capacitor C4, in various embodiments having the effect of substantially providing soft switching operation of the ballast. The primary winding Tp of a filament heating transformer is electrically coupled on a first end to the node between the resonant inductor L1 and the resonant capacitor C4. A first capacitor C1 is coupled on a first end to the second end of the primary winding Tp of the filament heating transformer. A second capacitor C2 is coupled between the second end of the first capacitor C1 and the negative voltage rail for the ballast 20 (e.g., ground).
A clamping circuit is further coupled to the second capacitor C2 and is effective during a preheat mode of operation to clamp an amplitude of the voltage across the primary winding Tp of the filament heating transformer to an amplitude of the input voltage from the inverter 57. Referring to the embodiment of
When the diode D1 is non-conductive, the output curve for the circuit 10 is curve 2 as shown in
fres=1/(2Π√(L1×Ceq)),
where L1 is the inductance of the primary winding Tp of the filament heating transformer T1, and Ceq is the equivalent capacitance of C1 and C2 in series, i.e.,
Ceq=(C1×C2)/(C1+C2).
The peak AC component of the voltage across capacitor C2 with respect to the switching frequency (f) without diode D1 is shown in
When the clamping circuit is enabled, or with regards to the embodiment of
With the clamping circuit so provided, the output voltage curve for the filament heating circuit 52 varies with the switching frequency (f) as shown in
fres1=1/(2Π√(L1×C1),
where L1 is the inductance value for the primary winding Tp of the filament heating transformer T1. It may be understood that the resonant frequency (fres2) is greater than the resonant frequency (fres1) because the equivalent capacitance (Ceq) of capacitors C1, C2 is less than the capacitance of capacitor C1.
The preheat frequency (fpre) may in various embodiments generally be designed to be greater than either of the resonant frequencies (fres1, fres2) to ensure inductive mode switching of the switches Q1, Q2 in the half-bridge inverter configuration. Further, the preheat frequency (fpre) may be designed to be between frequencies fc1, fc2 to ensure that diode D1 is conductive during the preheat period, such that the preheat output is part of curve 1 as shown in
When diode D1 is conducting, the voltage across capacitor C2 is fixed, and therefore appears as a voltage source which effectively produces a circuit as shown in
Because the preheat frequency (fpre) is greater than the resonant frequency (fres2) the tank current I_tank is inductive. When the preheat frequency (fpre) is close enough to the resonant frequency (fres2) or otherwise when the operating frequency (f) approaches resonance, the phase angle of the tank current I_tank should be close to −90 degrees with reference to the voltage Vin. As a result the phase angle of the AC component of the voltage across capacitor C2 is close to 180 degrees with an amplitude of Vdc/2. The total input voltage of the tank is therefore effectively (Vin+Vc2), which is a quasi-square wave and has an amplitude of Vdc. This total input voltage is twice as large as the input voltage Vin when diode D1 is not conductive and functioning to clamp the voltage.
Because the preheat frequency (fpre) is much larger than the resonant frequency (fres1), the output of curve 1 in a certain range around the preheat frequency (fpre) is flat. Therefore the output voltage Vout of the tank is substantially insensitive, or “stable”, with regards to preheat frequency variation and/or component variation. Even the transfer gain of this part of the curve is small because the preheat frequency (fpre) is significantly smaller than the resonant frequency (fres1), but with the assistance of a larger equivalent input voltage source (as compared to Vin normally when diode D1 is not clamping) a large output voltage Vout may still be obtained. As a result, a constant and effectively large filament heating voltage may be generated across the primary winding Tp of the filament heating transformer, the secondary windings Ts1, Ts2 of the filament heating transformer, and thereby the filaments R1, R2 of the lamp 55.
After preheating of the filaments R1, R2, the controller 12 may be programmed to sweep the switching frequency down to the steady-state frequency (fsteady) to ignite the lamp 55 and drive the lamp to steady-state operation. In the steady state, the frequency (fsteady) is lower than frequency (fc2) so the clamping circuit 26 is disabled. In the embodiment shown in
Operation of various embodiments of the filament heating circuit 52 in accordance with this description may be further shown with reference to
The inverter driver, as integrated within or otherwise independent but typically as directed by control signals provided from controller 51, then enters a lamp filament preheat operating mode and sweeps the switching frequency of the switches Q1, Q2 in the half-bridge inverter up to a preheat frequency (fpre) (step 104).
As the switching frequency (f) exceeds a threshold frequency (fc2), the voltage across capacitor C2 in the filament heating circuit 52 exceeds a threshold value for the clamping circuit. The clamping circuit (e.g., conduction of the clamping elements D1, D2 as in the embodiment shown in
With the voltage across capacitor C2 clamped, an output voltage for the filament heating circuit 52 is provided in accordance with a first curve (curve 1 as shown in
Once the lamp filaments have been properly heated, the controller 51 then sweeps the switching frequency of the switches Q1, Q2 down to ignite the lamp (at or near resonant frequency). After the lamp has been ignited the controller 51 further sweeps the switching frequency lower to enter a steady state operating mode and approach a steady state frequency (fsteady) (step 110).
As the switching frequency (f) sweeps below the threshold frequency (fc2), the voltage across capacitor C2 in the filament heating circuit 52 falls below the threshold value for the clamping circuit. The clamping circuit (e.g., conduction of the clamping elements D1, D2 as in the embodiment of
With the voltage across capacitor C2 no longer clamped, an output voltage for the filament heating circuit 52 is provided in accordance with a second curve (curve 2 as shown in
Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take at least the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context dictates otherwise. The meanings identified below do not necessarily limit the terms, but merely provide illustrative examples for the terms. The meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” may include plural references, and the meaning of “in” may include “in” and “on.” The phrase “in one embodiment,” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may.
The term “coupled” means at least either a direct electrical connection between the connected items or an indirect connection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices. The term “circuit” means at least either a single component or a multiplicity of components, either active and/or passive, that are coupled together to provide a desired function. Terms such as “wire,” “wiring,” “line,” “signal,” “conductor,” and “bus” may be used to refer to any known structure, construction, arrangement, technique, method and/or process for physically transferring a signal from one point in a circuit to another. Also, unless indicated otherwise from the context of its use herein, the terms “known,” “fixed,” “given,” “certain” and “predetermined” generally refer to a value, quantity, parameter, constraint, condition, state, process, procedure, method, practice, or combination thereof that is, in theory, variable, but is typically set in advance and not varied thereafter when in use.
The terms “switching element” and “switch” may be used interchangeably and may refer herein to at least: a variety of transistors as known in the art (including but not limited to FET, BJT, IGBT, IGFET, etc.), a switching diode, a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), a diode for alternating current (DIAC), a triode for alternating current (TRIAC), a mechanical single pole/double pole switch (SPDT), or electrical, solid state or reed relays. Where either a field effect transistor (FET) or a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) may be employed as an embodiment of a transistor, the scope of the terms “gate,” “drain,” and “source” includes “base,” “collector,” and “emitter,” respectively, and vice-versa.
The terms “power converter” and “converter” unless otherwise defined with respect to a particular element may be used interchangeably herein and with reference to at least DC-DC, DC-AC, AC-DC, buck, buck-boost, boost, half-bridge, full-bridge, H-bridge or various other forms of power conversion or inversion as known to one of skill in the art.
Terms such as “providing,” “processing,” “supplying,” “determining,” “calculating” or the like may refer at least to an action of a computer system, computer program, signal processor, logic or alternative analog or digital electronic device that may be transformative of signals represented as physical quantities, whether automatically or manually initiated.
The terms “controller,” “control circuit” and “control circuitry” as used herein may refer to, be embodied by or otherwise included within a machine, such as a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed and programmed to perform or cause the performance of the functions described herein. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be a controller, microcontroller, or state machine, combinations of the same, or the like. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
Depending on the embodiment, certain acts, events, or functions of any of the algorithms described herein can be performed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or left out altogether (e.g., not all described acts or events are necessary for the practice of the algorithm). Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts or events can be performed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threaded processing, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processor cores or on other parallel architectures, rather than sequentially.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
The previous detailed description has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of a new and useful invention, it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth in the following claims.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/991,960, dated May 12, 2014, and which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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